STARKVILLE, MS. -- Former Mississippi State coach Mike Leach was a luminary and a larger-than-life character in college football. On Tuesday, his impact was spelled out in detail as friends, coaches and players shared personal stories of Leach's humanity, his sense of humor and the deep curiosity that drove him to the highest levels of the sport.
Leach died on Dec. 12 at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson from a heart condition. He was 61 years old.
At Humphrey Coliseum on a rainy Tuesday afternoon, Mississippi State held a memorial for its departed head coach with some of college football's most recognizable figures in attendance.